A Great Debate
by JillianUnleashed
Summary: A duel of quotes between Hermione and Draco leads to new possibilities. Rated M for a reason.


_Disclaimer: following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story._ If It were mine, things would have been very different.

It was an average day in the library of Grimmauld place. The dark, stuffy room held the younger generation of the Order of the Phoenix. The members were self-segregated in clusters according to Hogwarts House membership, as per usual.

Elder members of the Order still preferred to isolate the youth in the vain hopes of protecting them. In war, very little can be done to offer real protection, but at times, the façade was the only thing holding the elder generation together, especially the parents.

A chorus of groaning from the Slytherin group had the others looking up in distrust.

"Oy, Malfoy! Control your lot" Ron exclaimed.

With a particularly nasty sneer Draco responded "Why? Having problems sounding out the letters? Didn't mummy teach you simple phonics?"

"Draco, Ronald, quit it. If you're bored, go find a game to play. If you don't want to complete any research today, fine, but I need to, you're putting me behind schedule" Hermione stated with a huff and a tiny foot stomp.

Ever since the Malfoy family defected and brought along several of Draco's friends, things at Grimmauld Place had become tense and difficult for the muggleborn. While they were not overly rude towards her, they hadn't seemed to change any of their differing world-views.

Draco loved to incite arguments and pick fights. Most of his berk-like behavior could be accredited to the fact that his father was currently serving as spy alongside Professor Snape. While the world saw a cold aloof family, in reality, the Malfoy family held a lot of love and affection for each other. Knowing that his father could be killed at any moment was taking a toll on Draco.

To her credit, Hermione tried her hardest to diffuse fights and ignore Malfoy's attacks. However, the time for childhood had long passed her. When she became Harry and Ron's friend, she knowingly gave up her childhood in order to save their lives. Harry and Ron recognized this and tried to support her when it came to researching. After all, it's not like Harry had much of a childhood himself. Therefore, there was no use complaining about it.

Over the past two months, she found herself drawn to him. At first, she felt pity for the spoiled youth. Later, she'd been fascinated at his depth of knowledge. While she had to work hard for her grades, spending hours completing research and going far and above all expectations on assignments, Draco was different. He could complete and assignment in minutes, from memory, and receive marks that rivaled her own. In the past, people assumed that his father had somehow purchased his grades, but Draco actually did his own work. His natural inclination towards laziness was the only thing keeping him in second-place against Hermione.

Because her feelings for the younger Malfoy were undefined-boarding on inappropriate, Hermione struggled to keep up a façade when dealing with him. After tense months, he'd earned her respect for his intellect. Moreover, he showed his leadership skills when dealing with the members of his house that defected. It was no secret that the other students were looking for a reason to fight with the Slytherins. At some point, he'd started to engage her in debates and spending time with her playing games. They'd formed a truce but then strengthened it into an alliance of sorts. The hard part of their new relationship is that Hermione had a suspicion that she didn't want another friendship. She had all the friends a girl could want, with Draco, things were hinting at more. The Malfoy's had changed, but not that much.

"What sort of game should we play? They won't let us outside to play Quidditch, we're bored with wizards chess and exploding snap, the last time we tried to duel, Mrs. Weasley made me wish for a detention with Filtch" Theodore Nott whinged.

"How should I know what will occupy you all? I just want to research" Hermione shouted.

Suddenly Draco stood in front of Hermione "I have a game in mind. If you win, you can do what you want, including research for the rest of the day. If I win, you have to do what I want. Deal?" The blonde youth said while holding out his hand.

Hermione eyed his hand with some suspicion before grasping it and firmly shaking it.

Ron moved towards Hermione and nudged Draco out of the way. "Hermione, I have faith you'll kick his arse, but are you sure this is a good idea?"

Rolling her eyes at Ron, Hermione turned to look at Draco and stated: "What's the game?"

In the middle of turning two chairs to face each other in the center of the room, Draco paused to answer "they won't let us have a real duel, so we'll have a word duel."

"How?" She asked.

He responded: "One of us will go first and give a quote and the author based on a topic the other chooses. The other person will then respond with another quote that relates to the previous quote. Quote authors should be limited to famous figures from history. We shall have no more than 30 seconds to offer up a reply to each other. "

At this point, he paused to see if his audience as following along.

"If in doubt of authenticity, we shall each pick a second to research. All scoring and play shall cease while the research is being conducted. You Granger shall pick the opening topic and I shall go first. The point is to have a dialogue of sorts, using the words of other people." Malfoy finished with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Very well, I pick the topic of cowardice." Several of the Slytherins appeared ready to hex her, while the Hufflepuffs gasped at her audacity.

Hermione just smiled innocently and lifted her chin in challenge.

After looking at his housemates, Draco started.

Draco: "'The man who runs away may fight again' Demosthenes."

Not missing a beat, ad if she expected something like that out of Draco, Hermione replied.

Hermione: "'All warfare is based on deception' General Sun Tzu."

In his best "is that all you got" tone, Draco continued.

Draco: "'The strength of an Army lies in strict discipline and undeviating obedience to its officers' Thucydides."

Hermione didn't feel bad about hinting at Draco's father's position as a former Death Eater and current spy. This was a due after all. He wouldn't be showing her any mercy.

Hermione: "'Quis custodiet ipsos custodies? (Who will guard the guards themselves?' Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis (Juvenal)."

Draco: "'Let evil swiftly befall those who have wrongly condemned us—God will avenge us' Jacques Demolay."

The look on Draco's face changed from aloof to hard and cold. He saw Hermione's challenge and was facing it head on. See how she likes a threat implied back at her.

Hermione: "'Judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur (The judge is condemned when the guilty acquitted)' Publilius Syrus."

In Hermione's opinion, Draco's biggest fault is his tendency to judge, without taking time to gather facts and rethink things over for himself.

Draco: "'Don't tread on me' Anon (Most often linked to Benjamin Franklin)."

Malfoy savored the shocked expression on her face. She did not expect him to quote a muggle, much-less an American muggle at that. That should teach her about judging others.

Hermione: "'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' Thomas Jefferson."

Delighted that Draco opened the "muggle" can of worms, Hermione thought that he should be prepared to take what she tossed at him and ask for more.

Draco: "'In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king' Desiderus Erasmus."

At this point, quotes were being fired off in rapid succession. The audience was astounded that the opponents had time to properly process a quote before formulating a response. Words and hidden meanings were being verbally pitches around the room, as if in a verbal tennis match. Several of the Hufflepuffs left the room complaining of the tension as well as motion sickness and whiplash.

Hermione: "'We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result' Ed Murrow."

Draco: "'I discovered to my amazement that average men and women were delighted by the prospect of war' Lord Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell."

Hermione: "'Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone' Edith Louisa Cavell."

Draco: "'The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket' Joseph Conrad."

Hermione: "'…We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth' Abraham Lincoln."

Draco: "'Eat thou and drink; to-morrow thou shalt die' Dante Gabriel Rossetti."

Hermione: "'Nil desperandum (never despair)' Horace."

Draco: "'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat' Winston Churchill."

Hermione: "'One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love' Sophocles."

Every eye in the room turned to Draco and waited with baited breath, and yet, he remained silent. His mouth was silently agape and his eyes were wide and focusing only on Hermione's eyes. Steel clashed with amber in a silent conversation.

In short order, a small buzzer sounded and Hermione was announced the winner. After hearty cheers and congratulations, the audience filed out of the room in search of tea leaving the competitors behind in a silence as heavy as lead bricks.

"Did you mean it?" Draco asked her.

"I only say what I mean, Malfoy."

"I fear I am not worthy of this gift" was his reply.

Hermione tilted her head to the side and said "Well then, it's a good thing that it isn't up to you who this particular gift is offered to."

Closing the distance between them, Hermione reached up and touched his face, cupping his jaw with her right hand and pushing his hair behind his ear with her left.

"I believe you promised me a break from research" she said before leaning in and gently placing a chaste kiss upon his lips.

His shock wore off rather fast and he grabbed her around the hips and lifted her to sit upon a study table. Ignoring her protests, he pushed a stack of books and parchments to the floor while ravaging her mouth. His tongue mimicked the actions he wanted other parts of his body to take.

Taking a deep breath, Draco pushed himself away from the girl sitting on the table. "Hermione, I don't want to do this here. I want it to mean more than a one-off to relieve stress in the library."

"Draco, I won the duel, but you won this fight we've been engaging in for almost eight years. I'm done fighting. I meant what I said; love takes all of the pain and terror away. I want to love you, and I'd be complete if you loved me too."

His only response was to take her by the hand and lead her up several flights of creaky stairs to a small ram-shackle room. Once he had her seated on the bed, he applied locking, privacy, and silencing charms around the room.

"If we do this, there is no going back. You know the rules." Draco solemnly stated.

Unlike the muggle world, in the wizarding world, sex meant marriage, a bond formed through intimacy for eternity. Sex with Malfoy guaranteed Hermione's place at the next Lady Malfoy. It was not a small step to take.

"I'm ready, Draco."

Draco tentatively kissed Hermione on her neck, running his tongue along the shell of her ear and nibbling at her jaw while removing her robes and unbuttoning her blouse.

Hermione leaned back on the bed after kicking her shoes off and then wiggled out of her skirt. After that, she then turned her attention towards Draco shyly unclasping his robes and pushing them off. With a small gasp, Hermione discovered that Draco, like the pureblood he was raised to be, was wearing only boxers under his robes. Sparing a glance at his well-defined chest and abs, Hermione slowly licked his chest in one long graceful swoop all the way up the column of his neck and to his mouth.

Before she could explore him anymore, he had her on her back and was yanking her bra off. Hermione didn't mind being slightly man -handled, as long as he didn't stop licking and alternately caressing her nipples.

Slowly, Draco ran his hand down Hermione's body to her panties, which she quickly helped him remove. At the first brush of his finger on her clit, she nearly jumped off the bed. Draco took great pride in the mewing and moaning sounds she made while he touched her secret place.

She was right, all of the terrible things in the world, all of the suffering and pain, were somehow silenced while he watched the joy alight her face and the world fall apart in her completion. Living for someone else was a risk, but having this joy, even for a moment, made it all worth it.

Allowing her a moment to recover, Draco slid above her and between her spread legs. When she opened her eyes and smiled at him, he returned the look of love she shot him and as gently as possible, slid home.

"You feel like heaven, my angel." Draco paused for Hermione to overcome discomfort before she slowly started to move in a rhythm as old and primal as time.

Afterwards, Draco wrapped her in his arms and reflected on the sudden changes. He could find nothing to complain about, only satisfaction and contentedness.

Love freed him from everything. Only a fool would turn down that opportunity.

The end.


End file.
